Secrets and Lies
by LibbyLou22
Summary: What started out a routine day turned in to a Chain reaction of Secrets and lies. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

/\\

Jack opened his eyes and glanced at the alarm clock. Three minutes and it would ring, bringing about the normal routine. He looked at Lisa, his wife of six months, who was still fast asleep.

3:59… one minute and the house would start the morning commotion. At 4:45, the commotion would increase when everyone else's alarms went off, and Ty, Peter, Lou and Amy got up. Jack groaned as the alarm clock rang and Lisa rolled out of bed; he hit the 'off' button as he got out of bed.

"You want to make breakfast, or start laundry?" Lisa asked.

"I will start breakfast."

Jack smiled. Same question every day; same answer: Jack made breakfast and Lisa went for a run.

"Oh surprise, surprise!" Lisa said with a smile, and pulled on her running shoes.

"Same thing every day," Jack smiled.

"If you want to mix it up, then you can put the laundry in the wash and go for a run and I will make breakfast," Lisa teased.

"How far do you run in the thirty minutes you're gone?"

"Five kilometers," Lisa said, still smiling. "I used to do fifteen."

"I will stick with routine," Jack smiled back and kissed her.

"Routine is good," Lisa said, heading for the laundry room while Jack headed to the kitchen. Lisa looked out the window; the sun had just stared to rise over the horizon.

Amy hit her alarm's 'off' switch at 4:45. She quickly changed and rushed in to the hall.

"I am up first Lou. I get the shower first!" she yelled smugly. She walked in to the kitchen where Lou and Peter were already sitting at the table.

"Shhh! You are going to wake up Sammy!" Lou snapped.

"Wait, how are you always up before me?" Amy sighed, as she lost the shower battle yet again.

"It's a secret." Lou said, with the same smug tone Amy had used earlier.

"No, it's called setting the alarm to 4:45," Peter said.

"Now that is just cheating. It takes the fun out of the sport!" Amy retorted.

"Are you two still at it?" Lisa asked, walking in to the room while braiding her hair that was still wet from her shower.

"Yeah, did you hear Amy yell?" Jack asked, handing Lisa plates of food which she passed around the table 'til everyone had one.

"Hard not to. Why not take turns? "Lisa asked with a smile, knowing her suggestion went in one ear and out the other.

"Turns are no fun. We are competitive, that's why it is so fun." Amy smiled and looked at Ty. "Grandpa, you gave Ty more sausage than me."

Amy stole one off of Ty's plate.

Ty slapped her hand. "HEY!"

"Would you two stop it!" Jack grumbled.

"Here: eat mine. I have to leave anyway," Lisa said, and pushed her plate to the middle of the table. Ty, Amy and Lou dove for the two remaining sausages on her plate.

"How old are you three?" Jack asked as they scrambled and fought.

"Bye. I will see you at lunch," Lisa said, then kissed Jack. "Love you."

Lisa walked in to the laundry room and pulled the wet clothes out of the washer. She put them in a basket and took them out to the clothesline and pinned them up. Once she was finished, she left for the track, on time, just like routine.

* * *

><p>Lisa looked at her car's digital clock: 11 am. She was nearly thirty minutes late getting home. She looked down the stretch of road in front of her. A horse trailer was barrelling down the road in the wrong lane. Lisa gasped before the impact and sounds of smashing metal and horse screams rang through the countryside.<p>

Jack walked into the house expecting various aromas from Lisa's fancy lunches, but instead, he was hit with the stench of grilled cheese burning on the stove.

"Lisa?" he called out.

"She is not here grandpa," Lou replied from Sammy's room.

Jack tuned off the stove and walked towards Sammy's room. "Where is she?"

"I don't know," Lou answered.

Ty walked into the house with Amy and he instantly turned up his nose. "What is that smell?"

"Lou's cooking," Jack grumbled, walking towards them with Sammy.

Ty looked at his cell phone when it rang shrilly. "Yeah, Scott?" he answered. "Okay… I will be right there."

As soon as Ty hung up the phone, he headed for the door.

"Ty what's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Scott needs me. There was a trailer accident on the road about a mile from here. There are a bunch of injured horses." Ty sighed.

Amy gasped. "I'm coming with you."

"Amy," Ty looked at her doubtfully.

"I am coming with you. You will need help, and I am known for my work on trailer accidents," Amy smiled, referring to her YouTube video.

"I am coming too," Jack said. He was not about to sit by idly when he could be helping.

As soon as Jack pulled up With Ty and Amy, he identified both vehicles. One was Briar Ridge's trailer truck. The other was Lisa's silver car.

"Oh, no," Amy whispered, getting out of the truck. The horse trailer was half side-ways leaning up against some trees with Lisa's car almost completely underneath it.

Jack's stomach dropped. So much for routine.

/\\

Tell me what you  
>think and new chapters will appeared<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Jack sighed and looked at Lisa. He couldn't tell from her sleeping figure what was wrong with her. The doctor had not said much, except that he had given her painkillers, that he would be back later to talk.

Jack gazed at his wife's face. There were large cuts all over from the glass when the windshield had shattered. Some of the gashes were deep and had stitches; others a butterfly bandage. Her wrist was wrapped in gauze and there were more cuts up her arm. The doctor walked in behind him.

"Hello, sir."

"How bad?" Jack was blunt with the doctor.

"Your wife is actually quite lucky. She has a concussion, but that is to be expected after a trauma. As you can see, she has various cuts and abrasions from the impact, but other than a twisted ankle and a broken wrist, I would say she is okay. It is a miracle. Her past medical file lists all of these other injuries, and even the injury to the spinal cord she recovered from. She is quite the survivor."

/\/\/\/

Lisa was locked deep in her own jumbled dreams, in a past she never wanted to return to…

_Lisa looked back at__ Fairfield, and then walked down the drive towards Dan's car, her father's strong words still ringing in her ears._

_"Get out. You disobeyed me, now get out! And don't ever come back!" her father yelled, slamming the door._

_"Dan, isn't she beautiful?" Lisa smiled at her newborn daughter._

_"Yeah, sure," Dan mumbled._

_"What are we going to name her?"_

_"Whatever you like," Dan snapped._

_"'Julie Colleen',__" Lisa said, and looked at her baby girl._

_"We should have won that race! But you pulled that damn horse up to be safe after he stumbled a little. What were you thinking? The farm could go bankrupt if you don't win. We can't even afford to hire better jockey!" Dan gripped Lisa's arm harder._

_"Dan, let go of me! The reason we are going bankrupt is because you are drinking and gambling all of our money away. Not that we have much to start with!" Lisa snapped._

_"Don't talk to me like that." Dan growled._

_Lisa's eyes flashed with anger. "I will talk to you any way I want!" _

_Lisa flinched when Dan's hand struck her__ face. "Don't hit me ever again," she warned him._

_"You can't tell me what to do!"_

_"Oh, real mature! Our five-year-old daughter is more mature than you!"_

_Dan's hand went for Lisa's face and she instinctively ducked, and Dan's hand hit the stall's wall with a crack._

_Lisa was tired. She had had enough black eyes and bruises to last a lifetime. _

_"Do__n't bother coming home to night," Lisa started to walk away but stopped and tuned around. "In fact, don't come home, ever!"_

_"What about my stuff?" Dan yelled back._

_"If you want it, check the burn pile, though you had better bring a fire extinguisher. But I wouldn't advise that; you wouldn't want me to call the police."_

_"Fine! I am gone. But don't call me for anything, ever! Not Julie, and not you."_

_"Fine by me,__" Lisa said sarcastically._

_"I got a ride for Greg Morgan today. Wish me Luck."_

_"Good luck, mom," a nine-year-old Julie said._

_"I need it since I filed for bankruptcy, and we lost the horses, the house, and the farm already," Lisa thought._

_As the horses broke from the starting gate, Lisa had a good start, but another horse clipped hers and her mount went down along with two others. Lisa didn't even have time to tuck and roll like a jockey should to prevent serious injuries._

_"There was serious spinal damage and you will never walk again," the doctor said._

"_Your daughter is being placed in a foster home," the social worker told Lisa. "With your financial situation and you probably not being able to work again... We have found it best to remove Julie from your custody and place her in a foster home, since your ex-husband is not an option, and your father's illness makes him ineligible as well. They will continue to home school her and do their best to make her Olympic dreams possible." _

_Lisa adjusted her pillow, propping up her broken arm. "That has been her dream for as long as I can remember, and every twelve-year-old should have her dreams come true. I can't make that dream come true. Besides, if I have to go back to Canada, she cannot be a USA gymnast if she is residing in Canada," Lisa said, not really believing what she said._

_Lisa stood up and yelled when the television announcer proclaimed that the USA gymnastics team had won gold. She looked at her sixteen-year-old daughter whom she had not seen in nearly four years. Though she had overcome her nerve and spinal cord injury, she had allowed her daughter to continue her dream and had not contacted her. She had allowed Julie's family to legally adopt her when Lisa had been sure that she couldn't provide for her. A single tear slipped down her cheek._

/\\\\/\/\

Lisa opened her eyes and looked at Jack. "Hey," she whispered.

Jack kissed her forehead. "Hey, yourself."


	3. Chapter 3

Hello all here is chapter 3-  
>Fight<p>

/\\/\\/\\/\\

Jack took Lisa's left hand and  
>squeezed it lightly. "How ya feeling?"<p>

"Ok." Lisa whispered

"Do you remember what happened?"

"No."

"You where in a car wreck. The  
>wind shield shattered and cut you all over you have a broken wrist and sprained<br>ankle but that's it. You where so lucky."

"Oh my. I must look like hell."  
>Lisa thought of the damage glass might have caused to her face.<p>

"You look beautiful to me." Jack  
>said.<p>

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

One day latter Lisa was realest  
>from the hospital. She climbed in to the truck and looked at her self in the mirror.<br>She still had cuts all over and didn't want to try and count the stitches. Jack  
>looked at her. "Did you see the paper?"<p>

"No what's in it?"

Jack held it up. "It seems you  
>and your famous filly Northern Pride and you Jockey are being inducted in to<br>the Canadian Racing hall of Fame for your Canadian triple crown win consisting  
>of the Queen's Plate, The Prince of Wales Stakes and the Breeders' Stakes all<br>by more than 4 lengths breaking several track records."

Lisa smiled as Jack read parts of  
>the article to her. "I cant believe that was a year ago. It seems like the<br>other day."

"Well since your jockey was  
>inducted last year. This year the spotlight is on you and your famous filly."<p>

"Famous filly? Really Jack."

"Yes really. That's the papers  
>are calling her."<p>

"Her name is Pride." Lisa smiled  
>"I have to get back to working her she has one year of racing left and she has<br>the talent to go farther than any of my other horses ever have."

"You have capable co-trainers now  
>please take 4 or 5 days off and rest."<p>

"2 days." Lisa argued.

"3 no less than 3."

"Fine but I get to help Lou at  
>the dude ranch all day not just after lunch like normal."<p>

"God you are so stubborn." Jack  
>smiled and started the truck.<p>

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

Jack pulled down brier Ridge's  
>drive the next evening he intended to find out what happened the other day.<p>

"Jack what brings you over here?"

"I just want to know what happened  
>the other day." Jack said getting out of the car<p>

"How is Lisa by the way?"

"She is ok. She doesn't not  
>remember the wreck. And I want to know what happened after all it was your Simi<br>trailer filled with your horses." Jack muttered

"My driver had heart attack and  
>died somewhere between Heartland and here and the truck just drifted in to the<br>other lane." Val said as if it where nothing.

Jack nodded and climbed back in  
>to his truck.<p>

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

Lisa looked at Lou. "So four new cabins  
>over here. And I was thinking that we higher Marine on full time to cook. I<br>mean now that the dining lodge has been paid for we can expand." Lou pitched  
>her idea to Lisa during lunch<p>

"Ah yea. Sounds good to me." Lisa  
>smiled slightly as Lou hugged her.<p>

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank  
>you." Lou squeezed.<p>

"Ow. Ow. Lou."

"Sorry. I have to go call the contractors  
>and get the ball rolling. Can you cover for me at the dude ranch. There is a<br>family coming they are bringing there horse for Amy and have two weeks  
>reservations at the dude ranch. They will be at the dude ranch at 1:30."<p>

"Yea shore Lou." Lisa started to  
>smile but stopped when it hurt<p>

Jack chuckled. "You just made her  
>day."<p>

"I can tell." Lisa smiled and  
>looked at her left hand she had noticed earlier that her wedding ring was<br>missing. "Do you have my ring?" She asked Jack

"Oh yea. The hospital gave it to  
>me." Jack walked in to the bed room and retuned with Lisa's rings.<p>

Lisa slid the rings on her  
>finger. "Thanks. Now I have to go head over to the dude ranch." Lisa grabbed<br>her spare set of car keys.

"Lisa?"

"What."

"Number one you don't have a car  
>number two you can't drive with a broken wrist. How would you shift gears?"<p>

Lisa tossed her car keys up against  
>the wall. "Crap. I suppose I will just ride over."<p>

"Lisa I can drive you."

"Not necessary. I can do things  
>on my own." Lisa walked out the door towed the barn.<p>

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

It took Lisa 30 seconds to realize  
>that there was no way she could saddle Sky. She looked at the bay paint. "You<br>mind if I ride bareback?" The pant just looked at her and Lisa slipped a  
>bittless bridle over the horses head. "I can't say I should be riding so we are<br>going to go slow and smooth." Lisa looked at the clock on the wall. "Scratch  
>that we are going to go fast and smooth."<p>

/\/\\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

Lisa loped in to the dude ranch 5  
>minuets late. She noticed a truck and trailer already sitting in the yard.<br>"Sorry I am late." She called to the threesome standing in front of the truck.

"It's fine." The woman called.

Lisa slid off Sky and landed on  
>one leg. "Give me a sec to turn her out." Lisa led the horse over to the dude ranch<br>horses' pasture and tuned her lose in it. She then tuned and limped towed them.  
>"So sorry I am late."<p>

The brown haired woman walked  
>towed her. "It's fine. I am Cassandra Nelson-" she paused recognizing Lisa.<br>"Lisa I hardly recognized you what on earth are you doing here?"

Lisa who was surprised to see her  
>old friend took a moment to find her voce. "Cassie it is good to see you too."<p>

"Oh Lisa you know what I meant. I  
>just cant believe you are here. I mean you diapered off of the face of the<br>planet after your wreck and every thing with Julie. What happened? I mean you obviously  
>are better you are walking you do look like Hell by the way."<p>

"Cass the point please." Lisa  
>knew her scatterbrained friend well enough to know that she was getting<br>distracted.

"Yes sorry. What happened to  
>you?" Cassandra begged<p>

"I will explain but I have to get  
>you checked in and some others checked out. Then I have to go make dinner for<br>my family. I will try to catch up with you after wards and then I can explain everything.  
>But in the mean time my past we are keeping as brief as possible, no one knows<br>about any thing besides I was marred I divorced and moved home. My husband doesn't  
>even know about my wreck of Julie."<p>

"Ok fine but I really want to  
>know now." Cass stopped her floor<p>

"Cassandra Williams you haven't  
>changed since I last saw you. You still act like you did when you where 16."<br>Lisa smiled at her long lime friend whom she hadn't spoken to in years.

"Wait did you say diner for your  
>family. You have a family!"<p>

"Cass let me go to work. I will  
>talk to you when I can" Lisa tuned and left<p>

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

Lisa lay in bed that night  
>thinking about how she had avoided Cassandra at each and every turn that day.<br>She could remember when they where dorm mates at a boarding school in Kentucky all four years  
>Lisa was forced to attend by her Father who regretted it when Lisa met Dan<br>there. She could remember all of the dumb things they had done. Cassandra had thought  
>her better English and Lisa had thought her French. Then they had failed geography<br>together in fact they had done everything together from ridding to breaking dorm rules and staying up all hours.  
>They had both moved to Kentucky<br>and while Cassandra marred a world renown breeder and trained for him. Lisa had  
>marred Dan who had yet to make a name for him self and she had begun riding for<br>him. It had all been so long ago.

"Lisa?" Jack sat down on the bed.  
>"What is wrong?"<p>

Lisa moved over and let Jack wrap  
>his arms around her. She leaned back agents him laying her head on Jack's<br>chest. "Nothing."

"I know you Lisa something more  
>than nothing is bothering you. Now please tell me what it is." Jack traced a<br>finger over the ring on her finger.

"That customer Lou sent me to  
>meat at the dude ranch tuned out to be my best friend from when I lived inKentucky."<p>

"And what is the problem?"

"She has not changed one bit she  
>is still the same carefree woman that I went to boarding school with. She has<br>not changed at all. We where friends when I was young and stupid and I have  
>changed I didn't have a choice. She is one of those people that never grows<br>up."

"Why did you." Jack teased.

"I didn't have a choice Jack."  
>Lisa snapped not likening his joke at all.<p>

"Why not?" Jack could see she was  
>hiding something.<p>

"Because everyone has got to grow  
>up some time sooner is better than latter." Lisa snapped<p>

"What is it you are not telling  
>me."<p>

"Jack just please drop it!" Lisa snapped

"Lisa."

"Jack! Drop it!" Lisa climbed out  
>of bed. "I am sleeping on the couch."<p>

Jack chased after her and put his  
>hand on the door. "You can sleep in bed and I will sleep on the couch if that<br>is what you really want."

/\\/\\/\\/\\

Review and I will update


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Julie

/\/\/\

Lisa sat at the breakfast table  
>with out saying a word to Jack or any one else. The breakfast was surprisingly quite<br>with a strange silence when Lisa's fork clattered to the table. Lisa's bandaged  
>hand grabbed her good one, but they where both partly num. Lisa gasped, "It's<br>back." She whispered.

"Lisa. What's wrong?" Jack asked

"Nothing. I am fine."

Mallory who was for some reason  
>only she could explain was eating with them looked at Jack. "I could have sworn<br>she said 'it's back' which is strange-"

"Mallory." Jack warned her.

Lisa stood up and walked out  
>side tears running down her cheeks burning the cuts on her face. She walked<br>down to the lake and sat down knowing Jack was right behind her. "I cant do  
>this again." She whispered quietly to her self.<p>

Jack sat down next to her. "Tell  
>me when your ready."<p>

Lisa said for a while before she  
>started talking. "I had a track accident a long time ago. The doctors said I<br>would never walk again but I worked so hard and I proved them wrong. But after  
>that I suffered what was called Paresthesia in the lower limbs it can be in the<br>hands or feet and is normally temporary. It is ether a Burning pain like  
>someone put an iron on your hand, a sharp pain and that feels like someone<br>stuck a thousand needles in to your arm, the best one should be the one when  
>they just go numb but that is the one I hate the most. I would rather hurt<br>because I can feel it than go num and feel paralyzed."

Jack wasn't shore what to say.  
>"I won't have you diagnosing your self. You are going to the doctor inHudson today."<p>

"Ok." Lisa wrapped her arms  
>around Jack. "I am sorry for every thing."<p>

"No more secrets OK."

Lisa nodded.

/\/\

"I have some errands do you just  
>want to walk around?" Jack asked Lisa.<p>

"Yea. I am going to walk down  
>and find out what that big building has been built for. Nothing Has been built<br>that big in Hudson EVER!" Lisa smiled and walked to the edge of town and cut  
>through the grass to the new building several cars where parked out side of it.<br>She opened the doors and walked in expecting to find a office building but  
>instead there where apparatuses with one girl walking the room. The sign on the<br>wall read Hudson Elite Gymnastics . Lisa could see Cassie standing near the  
>uneven bars.<p>

The red headed girl in a tank  
>top and shorts looked at Cassie. "Can you spot me mom I want to test the bars<br>before the girls start using them after all I am there coach I don't want them to get hurt on the first  
>day I coach them."<p>

Lisa took a breath the other sign  
>read 'Coached by Julie Nelson.' Lisa watched her daughter fly though the air<br>and then land on the mat. "Julie." Was all she could say.

/

Short but I love to get you to  
>gess. Review and I shall update!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-  
>daughter.<p>

/\\

"Ma'am, you  
>can't be here. We are not open till next week!" Julie called to<p>

Lisa.

Lisa wanted to  
>run, but she felt glued to the floor. "Shoot," she thought.<p>

Cassie looked  
>closer and saw that it was Lisa. "Jules, it's fine." But it was<p>

too late; Cassie  
>could tell that Julie recognized Lisa.<p>

"Lisa."  
>Julie looked at her mother. The last time she had seen her she had<p>

been 12  
>years old and Lisa was still in the hospital. She could remember Lisa<p>

explaining that  
>she was never going to walk again and that she could not work<p>

anymore, and then  
>that she had to move back to Canada.<br>Lisa had told her that

she could not continue her gymnastics if she were to stay with Lisa. Julie had

kissed her and  
>gone to live with Cassie in a big house. She had gotten<p>

everything that  
>she wanted, except she could not see her mother. And now, here<p>

she was, and all  
>Julie wanted to do was yell at her. Nearly 20 years later,<p>

Julie wanted to  
>yell at her mother.<p>

Not even 'mom',  
>or 'Mother', but 'Lisa'. What happened to my little girl that<p>

called me  
>"mommy"? Lisa thought.<p>

"Julie, you  
>have a gym in Hudson."<br>Lisa couldn't think of much else to say.

"Yes. It is  
>the most boring town in the world and it was perfect for a gym."<p>

Julie said.

"Why?"  
>Lisa was trying to figure out if it was an insult toHudson or a<p>

complement.

"Do you not  
>remember any of the rules for Elite gymnasts? No dating, no<p>

distractions, no  
>friends outside of this gym, home-schooled only, no dances,<p>

no sort of  
>activity that puts your body in danger. That is why the town is<p>

perfect. I didn't  
>know you lived here… And you are walking. I thought you<p>

said you never  
>would." Julie snapped at Lisa.<p>

Lisa was near  
>tears. "I had forgotten. Yes, I live here, and yes, I am<p>

walking. But no,  
>I didn't say I would never - I said it was not likely."<p>

"So do you  
>still live in a van like we did after Dan left?" Julie was trying<p>

to make her  
>mother uncomfortable.<p>

Lisa cringed.  
>Cassie's eyes widened "Julie! That was uncalled for!"<p>

"No, it is  
>fine. I live on a Ranch. I train race horses, I own race horses and<p>

I own part of the  
>ranch where Cassie is staying."<p>

"Oh, so I  
>suppose that means you got back with Dan." Julie said. She had once<p>

been told that  
>Dan had inherited money from his parents after the divorce.<p>

"NO! I would  
>never do that. I have had enough black eyes for one life time. My<p>

father left it  
>for me when he died. Half of it went to you and the other to<p>

me. I put it in  
>to the farm and it worked out."<p>

"But you are  
>married." Cassie confirmed, trying to change the subject.<p>

"Yes. I  
>am." Lisa looked at her cell phone clock. "I have to go."<p>

/\\/\\/\\

Lisa lay down  
>next to Jack that night her mind spinning. Jack wrapped an arm<p>

around her waist  
>and kissed her cheek. "You ok?"<p>

"I can't get  
>what the doctor said out of my head." Lisa confessed leaving out<p>

that she also  
>couldn't stop thinking about the daughter who seemed to hate<p>

her.

"The tests  
>haven't come back yet; it could be nothing." Jack pulled her closer<p>

to him.

"But Jack,  
>the doctor said my paresthesia is likely permanent, or worse, a<p>

symptom of  
>something like Multiple Sclerosis or diabetes."<p>

Jack sighed and  
>buried his face in her hair. "It could just be temporary."<p>

"But-"

"You are a  
>lucky person and you will be fine. Like that doctor at the hospital<p>

said, you are a  
>miracle. You are my miracle."<p>

Lisa smiled. She  
>loved to see the side of Jack that no one else got to see:<p>

the sweet,  
>romantic man and not the cowboy who did what had to be done.<p>

"But what if  
>I fun out of miracles?"<p>

"You  
>won't," Jack whispered in her ear.<p>

"But-"  
>Lisa was cut off by Jack.<p>

"You  
>won't." Jack twisted a few strands of her hair around his finger.<br>"Did I

ever tell you  
>that I love your hair?" Jack changed the subject.<p>

Lisa smiled.  
>"No."<p>

Jack smiled; glad  
>he had got her off the other topic even though now they<p>

would spend ten  
>minutes talking about her hair.<p>

Lisa lay on her  
>side with Jack's arms around her. She smiled at the peace of<p>

the room, and  
>then the sensation of needles stabbing her hand returned. Lisa<p>

bit back tears as  
>her paresthesia flared up and it went to numbness. Lisa<p>

sighed with  
>relief when it started to burn. Thirty minutes after the flare-up,<p>

Lisa was fast  
>asleep. All her worries were not forgotten, though.<p>

/\\

Tell me what you  
>think and new chapters will appeared Sorry about the format I have no idia why it is doning that.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Lisa stood in the kitchen flipping through cookbooks, frantically trying to find a recipe that didn't look too hard or take too long to prepare. Since she had cleaned the entire house, she had lost track of time. She opened the refrigerator and saw a box of Bisquick.

"Hah!" she cried triumphantly. A recipe for breaded chicken was on the box, and below it, one for strawberry short cake.

"Dinner and dessert! Thank goodness for Bisquick!"

"Talking to a box Lisa?" Amy asked, walking in grabbing two pan lids from the cabinet and walking back to a horse in the round pen.

Lisa smiled and continued with her work. She had dinner in the oven and went to set the table. She pulled the glass butter dish out of the fridge and grabbed the silverware with the other. As she crossed the room to the table, her hands dropped everything and the butter dish shattered on the floor while knives and forks scattered across the room.

"Shoot!" Lisa exclaimed, holding back her tears of frustration and pain.

/\/\/\/

"Um, Lisa, why is there a fork in the hallway?" Lou asked, walking out of her room.

"I was looking for that! I dropped it and couldn't find it," Lisa explained, and took the fork from Lou.

"You okay, Lisa?" Lou looked at her.

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Lisa replied. She faked a smile as the doorbell rang.

/\/\

Lisa looked around at the full table. Jack sat next to her, and Cassie, her husband Mike and their fifteen-year-old adopted son, Will, sat across form her. Everyone else sat in various places around the table, just barely fitting in.

"This is so good, Lisa. It's simply amazing! I remember when you burned popcorn, and now you are making gourmet meals," Cassie said, smiling.

Amy smiled; she had seen Lisa using the Bisquick box's recipe. She couldn't help but laugh.

Jack looked at Amy and saw her expression. "What?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing," she replied.

Lisa smiled. "She knows I cheated and used Bisquick."

"It is very good. Cass never cooks," Mike said.

"Then what do you eat?" Ty asked.

"We have a chef prepare our meals," Cassie answered, as if it was normal for everyone to have a chef.

"It's probably a good thing. You wouldn't want a knife in your brownies," Lisa referred to a time Cassie had cooked a knife in a pan of brownies.

"One time!" Cassie protested with a grin. "I was in a hurry and didn't notice that the knife was in there. You were the one who caught your house on fire when you were trying to sell it. I think the charred wallpaper was what sold it."

"Still sold it."

"Yeah, to the bank," Cassie said, immediately regretting her words. "Oh, Lisa! I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking and it just came out."

Lisa cringed. "It's fine. It's not your fault my divorce bankrupted me." Lisa's fork clattered to the plate and she closed her eyes pushing back tears. She opened her eyes and flexed her hand through the pain a few times until it was bearable. "I am going to go get the dessert." Lisa stood up and walked into the kitchen. Jack followed her.

"You okay?" he asked gently.

"Yeah. It goes just as fast as it comes," Lisa faked another smile. "Can you bring the dessert in? I worry I might drop it." Lisa whispered.

Jack cringed, not liking her last comment.

As Lisa walked back in to the room, Cassie took it as an opportunity to change the subject. "So, how did you get all beat up?"

"Car wreck."

"Did you total your car?" Will asked, as he had a fascination with car wrecks.

Cassie looked at her son. "That is no question to ask."

She looked back at Lisa. "Sorry. He has this fascination with them since Julie almost got herself killed in a car wreck in China."

"It's fine. Yes my car was totalled, but I wasn't too badly hurt."

"Who is Julie?" Lou asked.

"My daughter. She just moved here three months ago to start a gym," Cassie replied.

"A gym? Hudson has a gym already," Peter said.

"A gym for her gymnasts," Cassie said. "She has girls that she is hoping to get on the Canadian gymnastics Olympic team."

"If anyone can do it, it's her," Lisa said quietly.

"So, she is a coach. How does a coach get the girls to the Olympics? Don't the actual gymnasts do that?" Amy asked.

"Believe it or not, gymnastics has a political side," Cassie said.

"Yeah, you have to be able to put up with a _lot_ of crap in any sport," Lisa sighed.

The smile on Cassie's face was playful. "You seemed to like that crap enough to get out of music class to practice with the school's jumping team."

"Ah, but I took the test and passed."

"You memorized how to play _three_ songs. How is that fair!" Cassie teased.

"And _you_ suffered through four years of flute class. But I did learn how to play the piano during my time at university," Lisa said.

Cassie raised her eyebrows. "When did you go to university?"

"After I left Kentucky and moved back to Fairfield. My father said he wouldn't allow me to have any part in the farm until I had put in four years of university. Along the way I did learn how to play the piano."

"I will believe it when I hear it," Cassie shook her head, her smile doubtful this time.

Lisa smiled back genuinely. "I'd prove it, but we don't have a piano."

"I saw one at the Dude Ranch in the dining lodge," Will said.

"Too bad I have a broken wrist," Lisa said ruefully, not really wanting to perform for her friends.

Jack smiled slightly. He could see that Lisa was still somewhat uncomfortable having her friends over for dinner, and he knew that she was still hiding things from him. But right now in this moment, she was happy, and that was what counted.

/\\/\\\


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to The Real TC for helping me!

/\/\/\/

Lisa walked out to the barn that evening trying to forget everything that had gone on at dinner. Though it was almost dark, Lisa walked out into the pasture and led Sky. The old reining horse followed Lisa like a puppy dog. Lisa smiled before climbing on a bale of hay to mount.

It had been a while since she had ridden bareback and bridle-less. To her, it was the most fun way to ride. It took the most concentration to keep her seat and control the horse when there was no bridle or saddle to get in the way. Lisa walked the horse to one of the small, open pens Amy used for new horses.

As she rode through the open gate, she smiled with sheer exhilaration. Before signalling Sky to lope, Lisa cleared away her troubling thoughts; she couldn't afford to think while riding. If she thought, she would lose focus and end up with a broken ankle.

"I don't want to think," she muttered. She cued Sky to do a flying lead change in the middle of her figure eight. When the horse complied she bucked just a little bit and Lisa couldn't help but laugh slightly. Cassie had been watching Lisa from the fence.

"Are you going to let that horse get away with bucking?" she called out. Lisa jumped and tuned to look at Cassie. Sky stopped and Lisa fell forward on to Sky's neck.

"Why did you do that?" Anger radiated through Lisa's body. Cassie had distracted her, though she was honestly angry at Cassie for many reasons. Cassie never thought before she spoke; her comment about Lisa's bankruptcy had rubbed her emotions the wrong way, and this was one of the last straws. Lisa was not sure how long she could put up with Cassie's comments about the past. "Did I do that?" Cassie asked innocently. "Yes. You cannot distract me when I am riding!" "Sorry. I just can't believe you are riding slow and elegant. You used to only jump and race." "Two things I can't do any more," Lisa snapped. "When I started riding again, I discovered my legs just don't bend the way they used to. English just was not an option. So I switched to Western, and a few years ago when I started seeing Jack and riding Sky, I started to do reining. Just for fun - not to win or pay the bills. I ride without a saddle when I rein, and sometimes without a bride. If I lose my concentration I mis-cue her and she will stop. I can't afford to fall off." "Sorry," Cassie mumbled. Lisa sighed. "I need to finish before it gets dark. Excuse me." Lisa pivoted Sky before asking her to lope away from the fence. /\/\/\/\/\ Later that evening, Lisa walked in to her room and couldn't help but smile at Jack's predictability. She knew she would walk in and find that he would be reading a farming magazine.

"Hey," she said in greeting. Jack looked up from his paper. "How was your ride?" "Fine," Lisa replied. She sat down on a chair in the corner of the room and started brushing her hair. "I saw you almost take a header. For you, that's not okay." "Cassie distracted me," Lisa snapped, remembering the incident with fresh annoyance. "Now what has you so short with her?" "She just gets under my skin. Her care-free personality in general is just aggravating sometimes. She acts like she is still in high school. She has never had a hard time with her life. She never had to worry about anything but what color to paint her finger nails. While I was struggling to eat dinner, she was planning major parties to celebrate one of their many horses' wins. She was adding on to their house and I moved into my car. But what aggravates me most is that every little thing that ever happened to me is public notice. She makes no secret of every little detail public, but hers is a locked door." Jack looked at her. He had questions about just about everything Lisa had said, but he thought it would be wise to keep his mouth shut.

/\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\\/\\/\\

Lisa walked into Maggie's three days later in no better of a mood. She was sick and tired of her broken wrist getting in the way of things. She still could not drive and she had to be chauffeured around if she needed to go anywhere. And to make matters worse, she couldn't go for her run; the doctor had baned her from that because of the swelling in her ankle. "'Morning , Lisa," Maggie said, while pouring her a cup of coffee. "Thank you, Maggie," Lisa said as she sat down. "Jack will be here in a second; he got stuck talking to Val." "You still mad at her?" "Maggie, someone has to be mad at her." Maggie started laughing. "So true!" She looked over at Julie who sat two seats down from Lisa. "Lisa, have you met Julie Nelson? She just moved here." Maggie motioned for Julie to move closer. And before Lisa said anything, Maggie was talking again. "Julie, this is Lisa Bartlett." "Maggie, we have met. Briefly, but nevertheless…" Lisa started. "So long as you have met… Just want to make sure she knows that not everyone is like you know who…" Maggie motioned to Val, who had walked through the door a moment before. "Maggie, be nice," Lisa warned with a sly smile. "I will. I will." Maggie said, making a placating gesture with her hands as she walked away. "So, I take it you know everyone in this town," Julie said quietly to Lisa. "Hard not to," Lisa replied. She was so glad to have a simple conversation with her daughter, that she did not hear Jack come in. Jack put his hands on Lisa's shoulders, and she looked up at him with a startled expression. "You scared me!" Jack kissed her hair and sat down. "Sorry; didn't mean to." Jack looked at Julie. "Hello! Jack Bartlett. And you are?" Julie looked her mother's husband up and down. "Julie Nelson," she finally said after an interminable pause. Lisa flinched inwardly at how awkward this was. Jack looked at Lisa. "So, this is Cassie's daughter." Lisa faked a smile. "Yes." Jack returned his gaze to Julie. Her fiery red hair was a total opposed of Cassie; everything was.

"Nice to meet you, Julie. I must say you look nothing like your mother," he said casually. Julie looked at Jack evenly. "No. I was adopted when I was little." Jack was slightly taken back. "I had no Idea. I'm sorry." "It's fine. My birth father left when I was a baby, and my mother… well, she is dead." Julie fixed Lisa with a hard stare. Lisa looked at Julie with tears in her eyes, and Julie just continued to glare at her. Lisa's hand let go of the coffee cup as her hands went numb.

"Shoot," she whispered, as the cup crashed to the floor and shattered. Jack put his hand on hers. "You all right?" Lisa squeezed Jack's hand when the numbness went away. "Fine," she answered. Lisa looked over at Maggie. "I am so sorry; I don't know what happened." "It's fine, Lisa. It's only a coffee cup. I had almost all of them destroyed a few years ago when Stumpy brought a cow in here and tuned it lose during some meeting they decided to hold in my diner," Maggie smiled at the memory.

Lisa couldn't help but chuckle. Even years later, the townspeople still liked to tease Maggie about Stumpy's calf being tuned lose in the diner and breaking everything in sight. Julie turned away. She had questions about everything, and she was the outsider to everything. Even when people included her, she didn't get half the things that were talked about. And she had racked up a list a mile long of questions. Now, she had more to add to that list, and the one that bugged her most had to do with her 'mother'.

/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

There a new Chapter finally! I have been so busy and have been out of town. I ment to post this but forgot I was going to post it the other week, Then I had a horse dump me at the track while traninging him to break from it. I got pined in the gate and broke a few ribs re blew my left knee and messed up my back. So I had surgery on my back last week as well as my knee. There 4 unless you want some realy crazy chapters (I am so loopy on pain meds half the time now) updates will be few and a time beetween. But I would realy love to hear what you think of the story. So revew and I will work on writing a chapter though it might take a week or more to write corect and add.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to The Real TC for helping me!

"She seems like a nice girl," Jack said of Julie, as they were walking out of the diner.  
>"Yes, she does seem like a nice girl," Lisa replied, "and she is talented. I was watching her when she was just a little girl, and she did a back flip. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I could see the talent just bursting from inside her. She never wanted to ride horses, or anything. She spent hours every day, training for the Olympics. And that was when she was only eight. Cassie said that she has even sleeped in the gym before a meet."<br>"'Slept', not 'sleeped'," Jack corrected.  
>"Whatever. My English can't always be perfect." Lisa opened the door to the truck. "And FYI: I just misspoke. I do know the different between 'sleeped' and 'slept'."<br>"Yeah, I'm sure," Jack chuckled as he started the truck.  
>"Be glad I am at least speaking English. What would you do if I didn't know any English and I only spoke French?"<br>"Might try to learn French," Jack commented as he eased the truck on to the road.  
>Lisa laughed, not unkindly. "You and French! Je voudrais voir cela arriver."<br>Jack glared at her. "What does that mean?"  
>Lisa smiled. "Point proven. You don't correct my English and I won't speech French," she said, using the wrong word on purpose.<br>"Speak."  
>"Je vous avais demandé de ne pas me corriger," Lisa said, glaring at him.<br>Jack only smiled and nodded his head.

Lisa lay in Jack's arms that night thinking of her daughter's strong words to her that day at the diner. It was getting hard to keep this secret; she felt she was going crazy. So many thoughts ran through Lisa's head that she was dizzy.  
>She should tell him. She was so tempted to simply blurt it out that she had even practiced in the shower that night, just coming right out and saying it. Saying: 'Jack, Julie is my daughter', but it never quite sounded right. It may have sounded okay in her head, but when she said it out loud, it seemed to echo even though the water was pelting the floor of the shower.<br>Jack noticed Lisa's silence, and realised she was obviously deep in thought.  
>"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked.<br>"A penny? Really? That's all my thoughts are worth? Not even a nickel?"  
>"Okay, one thousand pennies for your thoughts," Jack smiled at her and kissed her forehead.<br>"Ten dollars; that is better," Lisa smiled slightly, "but I was not the only one lost in thought. You were quiet, too."  
>"I'll tell you if you tell me."<br>Lisa hesitated. It was a good opportunity to tell him if she could work up the nerve. "Okay, but you first."  
>With a sigh, Jack went ahead. "I just have noticed that things have been out of place around the house, and sometimes this car follows me into town. I have seen it follow Amy, and you and Lou. And I just have a bad feeling."<br>Lisa thought she heard everything Jack said, but it had yet to sink in. She was preparing to tell him about her daughter, the one she had lied about, even after her earlier "no more secrets" promise she had made.  
>"Grandpa!" Amy's sudden shriek came from the porch interrupted Lisa's thoughts.<p>

Jack and Lisa jumped out of bed. Lisa slipped into a robe and slippers while Jack, on instinct, grabbed his rifle from out of the closet.  
>"Amy what's wrong?" he called out, as the couple dashed into the kitchen.<br>Lisa opened the door and gasped. A car she did not recognize sat in the driveway. All that she could see was a gun pointing at Amy.  
>Out of the corner of her eye, Lisa saw Jack emerge and point his own rifle at the car. In response to the new threat, the unseen hand behind the other gun moved to target Jack.<br>Lisa shifted silently to Amy while she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She pressed a button and set it on the ledge of the window.  
>"Slip off the porch quietly and go around to the back door," she instructed Amy. "As soon as you're inside, call the cops. Go now."<br>Amy complied quietly, slipping off the porch. Lisa sighed to herself in relief, knowing Amy was out of harm's way. Lisa took a step back, and as fast as she could blink, the gun that was pointed at Jack shifted to her. Four shots rang out through the night, along with the sound of skidding of tires.  
>\\\/

Revew to find out whats next.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks to The Real TC for helping me!

/\\/\\/\\/\\

Lisa hadn't even recalled Jack being shot. She saw the gun pointed at her and then the pain that blazed through her neck that brought her to the ground. She heard other shots, but the pain was too great to fight for consciousness. Now the doctors had informed her that Jack had been shot twice.  
>"We will inform you of your husband's condition when it becomes available. That could be a while from now, though. So right now we need to remove this bullet from your neck. Dr. Parker please, prepare some pain medicine," one of the doctors said. Lisa closed her eyes. As good as pain medicine sounded at the moment, she didn't want the loopy after-effects all just to pull a bullet out of the muscle in her neck.<br>"No. No pain meds. Just pull it out." "Mrs. Bartlett, that would be quite painful. Amazingly, the bullet missed all vital arteries and blood vessels, but got lodged in the muscle on the side of your neck. It has to be extracted," the doctor said. Lisa was becoming aggravated. "So get the dammed thing out! No pain meds; just pull it out." "Miss… Please, at least take half the dose." Lisa was about to lose her temper. "If I do, will you shut up?" The doctor glared at her. "Yes." Lisa snapped her fingers. "Fine. Get it done so I can leave." "You really must hate me," the doctor grumbled. "I hate hospitals. I have spent plenty of time in them. I want to get out of this room. I want to sit with my family and wait to hear that my husband is okay. I don't hate you; I just haven't had any sleep and my husband has been shot and-" Lisa paused, trying to think of what she had been saying. "Pain meds are taking effect," one doctor muttered. "It's a good thing," the other said under his breath. "I can hear the both of you!" Lisa snapped. /\\/\ Amy sat in the waiting room with Lou pacing the floor and Peter comforting baby Marion. Ty sat next to her, staring blankly at the wall. For reasons Amy couldn't figure, Cassie sat with Julie in the corner, even after Lisa had so obviously been short with them. Amy looked up when the doors opened. "Lisa," she said, and stood up along with everyone else.  
>Lisa looked around the room by turning her entire body so as not to move her neck. "Any news on Jack?" Lou shook her head. "No. What about you?" "J'ai eu une balle dans un muscle de mon cou." Lisa's thoughts and words not only slurred, but were French because of the severe pain in her neck. Cassie looked at Lou. "Did you understand any of that?" "I can't really say," Lou replied, "I have forgotten most of my French" Cassie thought for a moment. "Ah, she must be in a lot of pain. I saw her do this when she got herself pinned against the starting gate and broke three ribs. She refused to go to the doctor until after the last race of the day. She was in such pain that she couldn't focus enough to speak English. She still won two races she was in that day." Lou turned to face Lisa, who had taken a seat next to Amy. She could see tears in Lisa's eyes. She looked over at Amy, who had not said a word since the day of the shooting. "It could have been me," Amy thought to herself. "I could have been the one to get shot." Amy observed the bandage on Lisa's neck. "It should have been me. Lisa told me to leave, and I did. Then she got shot. And Grandpa and-" Amy's silent thoughts were going to make her cry. She saw Lisa quietly wiping away tears.<p>

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

Lisa looked at the clock and saw it was only nine am. Only six hours had passed since the shooting that turned her life upside down. She hadn't even spoken to a doctor about Jack. No one would tell her anything.  
>"I am going to get a coffee," Lisa said, wincing. She walked out the heavy doors and went down the hall. She passed a woman and her three children who were all crying in the hallway. Lisa fought back tears until she just snapped, unable handle it any more. She sunk down against an empty wall and started weeping. It felt better to cry, but the wound in her neck made it hurt. "Lisa?" Julie walked up to her mother. Lisa stood up. "I can't handle this," she said. "I can't. I need Jack. He is all I have left. I can't lose him." Julie looked at her and teared up. "What about me? What about me, mum? You would still have me." Lisa looked at her through her tears. "You called me 'mum'. I haven't been called that since you were little." "Well, that's who you are, isn't it?" Lisa started crying again. "I suppose it is. I guess that means that I am supposed to interrogate your boyfriend." Julie wiped away tears. "I don't have a boyfriend." Lisa pulled her in to a hug. "We will just have to fix that."<p>

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

"He has recovered from surgery quite well," Jack's doctor said. "Normally we would have allowed you to see him before now, but there are many complications that come with removing a bullet that close to the heart, so we opted to wait until he was conscious to allow visitors."  
>Lisa looked at him. "He is awake?" "He woke up five minutes ago," the doctor confirmed, opening the door. "Go on in." Lisa peeked inside. "Hey," she whispered to Jack, sitting down next to him. "We just can't win for losing, can we?" Jack whispered hoarsely. Lisa looked at him and started crying again. Jack picked up her hand and squeezed it. "I think I have cried more in the last twenty-four hours than I ever have in my life." "You have every right to," Jack said. He thought for a moment, then asked the question he knew he shouldn't ask. "Who was it?" Lisa hesitated. "Wes. The cops searched his house and found diagrams, photos; everything. He had been planning this for a long time; probably years. The have him charged with attempted murder, stalking, and a few other things, too."<br>Jack looked at Lisa who was so tired that she was dozing off in the chair. He smiled at her in relief. They had been lucky; very lucky.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to The Real TC for helping me!

/\\/\\/\\/\\

Lisa set Jack's cup of coffee on the night stand. It had been almost four weeks since the shooting that had changed everything.  
>"Here's your coffee."<br>Jack, who had been on house rest since being released from the hospital a week ago, looked at her.  
>"Thanks," he said.<br>Lisa sat down and curled up in a chair. "Mm-hmm."  
>"How's your neck?"<br>"Fine. Sometimes moving it still hurts, but otherwise, fine. It's going to leave a nasty scar, though." Lisa gestured to the stiches on her neck.  
>"I bet," Jack said with a smile.<br>"Yours probably hurts more than mine. After all, you have twenty-six stiches in your chest, and I have four in my neck." Lisa set her cup of coffee down and walked around to the edge of the bed.  
>Jack watched her and said: "Go. You're going to be late for work."<br>"I can finally drive again and I don't want to leave."  
>"Put it off another day then," Jack suggested.<br>"I wish I could, but that's not possible. I have horses to train. In two months, I get into the trainer's Hall of Fame, but it has been moths since I actually trained a horse."  
>"So go!" Jack exclaimed standing up slowly.<br>"But I don't want to leave you."  
>"Because today is your birthday?"<br>"No. Because I love you," Lisa said, smiling as she grabbed a silk scarf and looped it around her neck, "and because I haven't been out of the house or seen anyone besides your family in a week."  
>Jack slowly followed Lisa to the kitchen where Cassie was standing with Amy and Lou.<br>"Go," Jack pointed to the door.  
>Lisa glared at him. "Yes, dear," she mocked.<br>Jack chuckled, then kissed Lisa.  
>Lisa smiled happily and kissed Jack again. "That's my cue to go. 'Bye, everyone!" Lisa said, and walked out the door.<br>Jack turned to face Amy and Cassie as soon as Lisa walked outside.  
>Cassie pulled a 'Happy Birthday' banner out of her purse.<br>Amy met her grandfather's look. "You sit. We will decorate."

Lisa slid in to the driver's seat of Jacks pick-up truck. She took a breath and pushed away flashbacks of her car wreck. Her hands were shaking as she put the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. The clock read 6:30 in the morning. She would have normally been at work by now. Moving her thoughts to what needed done at the track, she pulled the truck out on the dirt drive.  
>In ten minutes, she pulled up in front of Maggie's with her hands still shaking and in desperate need of caffeine. She couldn't get out of the truck fast enough. When she opened the door the smell of fresh coffee hit her.<br>Maggie looked up. "Lisa! We heard you were going back to the track today."  
>Lisa looked at them in surprise. "What? How did you find out about that?"<br>"Um, 'Racehorse Weekly'; 'Racehorse Monthly'; 'Thoroughbred'; the 'Calgary Herald'; the 'Calgary Sun', the Hudson paper, not to mention several local news stations," Ashley cut in, holding up a stack of magazines and papers.  
>"Why on earth would they be reporting about my going back to work?"<br>Ashley gaped at her with a look of incredulity. "Are you serious? You made history when they announced that you were being inducted in to the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame after you won the Triple Crown. You became an icon… And the fact that you were the first woman to train a race horse that had such a good record. Everything you do is a big deal. You made history!"  
>Maggie nodded in agreement. "It's a big deal because you're the first, and you're being inducted in a little more than a month after this year's Triple Crown! It is countdown time."<br>Julie, who had heard the conversation from her seat at the counter, looked at Maggie and nodded. "Yes. Two months before is when the press starts and since you have been out of commission, they have time to make up for."  
>Lisa groaned. "Great. Just what I want."<br>Maggie smiled. "Look on the bright side!"  
>Lisa glared at her. "I don't see a 'bright side'."<br>Maggie looked around deviously. "It will drive Val Stanton nuts - you getting more publicity than she ever has."  
>"Forget Val. This will drive Dan Hartfield nuts! And I live for that," Lisa grinned. "This might be a fun day after all!" Lisa turned and walked out with her coffee while Maggie, Ashley and Julie tried to keep from laughing.<br>But upon arriving at the track, Lisa's story changed. There were several people with cameras outside her trailer, and others outside near the parking lot.  
>"Oh, yes. Fun!" she muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm.<p>

Hours later, Lisa had driven over to Fairfield and entered her study. She looked at the papers on a new horse then stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. Grabbing a folder, she put the papers back in.  
>Julie, who had walked through the unlocked door of the house, opened the door to the study. "This is really quite the house," she said.<br>Lisa jumped and spun around. "You scared me!" she exclaimed.  
>"Sorry. I knocked, but no one answered. The door was not locked, so I just came in," Julie said sheepishly.<br>"No, no it's fine. After all, it is your house as well."  
>Julie looked around the room. "You're kidding, right?"<br>"No. I want it to stay in the family," Lisa smiled at her daughter.  
>"Wow...Thanks... Now, you said earlier you would show me Heartland so-"<br>Lisa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we'd better get going; wouldn't want to be late to my own surprise party."  
>Julie looked horrified. "You know?"<br>"Yes. When Jack, Amy and Lou locked themselves in the spare room, I knew."  
>"Mom just told me I had to make sure I got you home… So, I really don't know my step-father, or the rest of your new family. Any chance I could meet them?"<br>"Oh, yes, of course! You want me to go back to Heartland," Lisa winked.

Twelve days later, Jack, Lisa and Cassie were in the kitchen at Heartland.  
>"So we plan on leaving tomorrow morning, early. It's a long drive back home," Cassie said.<br>"And pulling a trailer," Lisa added.  
>"With a horse cured by a Miracle Girl."<br>"I take it you liked what Amy did for Yogi?" Lisa asked with a smile.  
>"Yeah, I kinda want a clone. My own personal miracle girl," Cassie said.<br>Jack and Lisa chuckled. Lisa smiled happily; it was good to hear Jack laugh, even just a light chuckle. Jack carefully put his arm around her.  
>"You and everyone else," Jack said.<br>"I think sometimes she wants to clone herself too, she gets so busy with the horses," Lisa commented, leaning in to Jacks embrace.  
>Julie pulled up in a Mercedes Benz as Lisa finished her sentence. "Morning-afternoon-evening- whatever time it is."<br>Lisa turned to look at her. "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while."  
>"It's 'afternoon', by the way," Cassie commented.<br>"Thanks. I have not seen the light of day for a week!" Julie said, tossing her sports jacket in the car.  
>"Why?" Jack asked her.<br>"Um, my girls have a meet tomorrow, so I locked myself and the team that are going to worlds in the gym for a week. We now have complete beam, vault, floor, and bar routines," Julie announced proudly.  
>"Well, I am sure that your team will do a wonderful job," Lisa said with a smile.<br>"I just came to say goodbye. I have a bus leaving in an hour for a competition in Cali," Julie said.  
>"You mean California?" Lisa corrected not liking the slang.<br>"Yes, why?"  
>"She has to correct people when they use improper English," Jack teased Lisa<br>Cassie played along. "I know! It's like she can't understand us if we use slang." She smiled playfully at Lisa. "J/K. LYLAS."  
>Lisa looked around, confused. "What?"<br>"You sound like me," Jack cut in.  
>"You're all so mean to me. Even you," Lisa glared at Jack.<br>"LOL!" Julie laughed, and climbed back in her car. "TTYL! ILY"  
>Lisa stomped her foot, clearly confused at the acronyms being spouted. "Meanies!"<p>

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

tell me what you think


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to The Real TC for helping me!

/\\/\\/\\/\\

Lisa was late; very late, and being late while attempting to make her hair cover the scars on her neck was impossible. "Jack, are you ready?" she called out.

"I am waiting for you!" Jack answered as walked in to the room with his hat in his hand.

"I have to fix my hair. I couldn't even put my make-up on because my hands are numb," Lisa sighed.

Jack walked over to the closet, pulling out a cowboy hat and Lisa's leather jacket. "Wear that."

Lisa slid the jacket over her shirt. "Thanks," she said. "Did I get all the mascara off my face? I dropped the brush, and it spread all down my face when my hands went numb."

"Yeah," Jack replied absently, not really looking at her.

"'kay," Lisa said, and grabbed the keys off the hook, nearly running in to Julie as she walked out the door, "'morning," she blurted hurriedly.

"In a rush, Lisa?" Julie asked.

"Yes, I am so very late!"

"For?"

"I have a TV interview with the afternoon TV show, 'Real Life with Sharon Caddy'. They are staying at the Dude Ranch while they run a segment on my being the first woman to the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame."

"It's apparently a big deal," Jack muttered.

"Yes, it is, Jack," Lisa replied with mock seriousness.

Julie looked at the black streaks across Lisa's face. "You have mascara all over your face, Lisa."

Lisa made a face at Jack. "You said it was good!"

He could only give a sheepish shrug in reply.

/\\/\\/\\

Jack handed Lisa a card. "Happy very late birthday."

"Thanks," Lisa said, and kissed him on the cheek. "Can I open it?"

"Well, yes! I didn't get it for you to look at," Jack chuckled.

Lisa opened the envelope to find only a slip paper. She read it out loud, smiling as she did. "'I owe you a new car'." The smile on her face radiated excitement. "Really? A new car? Are you going to go car shopping with me? Without complaining?"

Jack smiled indulgently as Lisa wrapped her arms around him. "I can't guarantee that I am not complaining…"

"Yeah, yeah," she chided, knowing his dislike for any form of shopping all too well.

/\\/\\/\\

Julie pulled in to Heartland at 6 AM four days later, dripping wet. Her apartment had flooded, and she was drenched, and furious. She climbed out of the car and knocked on the door.

Amy opened it. "Julie! How are you?"

"I am wet," Julie replied sourly. "The pipes in my apartment burst and water went everywhere. My entire apartment has a foot of water in it. I was wondering if I could borrow a set of clothes - I have this meeting with all the parents of my gymnasts. All my clothes are wet and I can't go in a gym suit."

Amy smiled. "Lisa has already left, but I think I can help you out. And if you need a place to stay while your apartment is fixed, we have a guest room."

"I might just take you up on that," Julie said with a smile.

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

"How does one spend four hours looking for a car?" Jack teased, as they walked up the porch steps.

"I picked the second truck on the lot," Lisa said in her defense. "You were the one who negotiated the deal."

"It was not really a deal," Jack complained.

"Yes it was, Jack. It was a steal," Lisa said happily as she opened the door.

Jack and Lisa gasped at the same time. Smoke spewed out the open door and there was a raging fire on the stove. Lisa shrieked. Jack hurried to get a fire extinguisher. "AMY!" he yelled, knowing she was the one who had caused the havoc.

Lisa raced to open the windows, and then she turned the knob on the oven to shut it off. The heat burned her hands. "Ow!" she yelped in pain.

When the flames had been extinguished and ceased smoldering, Jack and Lisa sat down. Jack sighed. "Well…"

Lisa smiled ruefully. "We just can't win for losing," she said with a shake of her head. She started laughing, and moments later Jack joined in.

Amy and Julie chose that moment to walk through the open door. Both of them gasped at the sight of the damage caused by the fire. "I forgot about the stew!" Amy shrieked.

"It's not really a stew; it's more like charred stuff," Julie declared.

"Amy, you're lucky we found that when we did. You could have burned the house down!" Lisa tried to scold her, but she started laughing again.

"Lisa is right: you are old enough to know not to leave a stove unattended," Jack added, chuckling slightly.

"How old am I, ten?" Amy asked in exasperation.

"What is so funny?" Julie asked Lisa, clearly confused at what could be so humorous about an oven fire.

"Nothing," Lisa and Jack said simultaneously.

"Now I feel like I am ten as well," Julie whispered to Amy.

/\\/\\/\\

Lisa looked at her charred kitchen. "Ugh. Amy, why did you have to go and try to make dinner?" she asked out loud.

Jack wrapped his arm around her. "We will fix it," he said.

"At least this means I get to redo the kitchen," Lisa said, perking up.

"You get a new car then immediately start wanting something else," Jack grumbled before he kissed the top of Lisa's head.

"Please," Lisa begged, turning around to face him. She kissed him once then looked at him imploringly.

"Fine," he finally ground out, "just don't go too crazy." Jack looked at her knowing she would go overboard anyway. He kissed her back just as Julie walked through the door.

"Oh. Sorry." Julie said, and started to back out.

"No, it's fine," Lisa said. "We were discussing what to do about the kitchen."

"Yeah, is that what you called that?" Julie teased.

"Yes, that is what I am calling it," Lisa replied with a hint of a smile.

/\\/\\/\\/\\

Lisa couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell Jack about Julie, and pray that he would have not a heart attack when she broke the news. As soon as Jack closed the bedroom door that evening to prepare for bed, Lisa blurted it out. She explained as quickly as possible, and then waited in trepidation for his reaction.

/\\/\\

Tell me whaat you think...


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry this is so late! I have been in school. I am graduating in may and will resume my writing.

I found this in my computer when I was getting ready to write this chapter!

THREE YEARS LATER

Lisa's hands shook as she put another pin in Julie's red hair. "You ready?" Lisa asked, tearing up slightly.

Cassie looked from Julie to Lisa. "Lisa, she is getting married, not dying."

Lisa smiled. "I know that, but that means she is all grown up."

"I just did everyone's makeup. Please don't cry and ruin it," Lou chastised.

"We can only try, but I will not make any promises," Julie said with a smile, but her thoughts lingered on her adoptive father who had died in a car wreck two years prior.

"Lisa, can I talk to Jack for a moment alone, please?"

"Yes, I will go get him," Lisa replied, and left to summon her husband.

Several moments later, Jack knocked on the door frame and gazed at his step-daughter. "You look amazing," he said admiringly.

"Thanks," Julie said with a wide smile. "Jack, I want to thank you. You have been like a second father to me. And since dad passed away and Dan has no interest in even attending, I was wondering if maybe you would walk me down the aisle…" "I would be honored," Jack answered heartily, and pulled Julie in to a warm embrace. "

Thanks, Dad," Julie whispered.

/\\/\\

Amy looked at Lou. "I don't know why we can't not cry on happy days," she said.

Cassie wiped away tears. "Yeah, I think it's a girl thing. Julie is crying and she is the happiest soon-to-be married person on Earth."

"Everyone cries on their wedding day," Lisa added, "I did, Lou did, and Amy, in six months, so will you."

Lisa was referring to Amy's engagement to Ty.

"I won't cry," Amy insisted. "Oh, you will," Lou asserted.

Julie chose that moment to walk out of the room, her face stained from tears of joy that had made a mess of her mascara and blush. "Lou," she called sheepishly, "can you please fix my make-up?"

"See," Lou said to Amy pointedly, "you just can't help it."

/\\/\\/\\

Three hours later, Julie was dancing with her new husband, David. Lisa took Jack's hand as she watched her daughter smile with happiness as she danced. Jack glanced at her. "Julie wants me to do the father-daughter dace with her," he said.

"So do it," Lisa encouraged, smiling as the newly-married couple's dance ended and Julie took Jack's hand.

Lisa smiled tearfully at the sight of the two of them as they danced, as naturally as if they'd always been father and daughter. Later, she took David's hand and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. "I am only going to say this once, but if you ever hurt Julie-"

"You will sic Jack on me," David finished her sentence with a grin. "Jack talked to me earlier. He said that if I ever hurt Julie, then he would have to kill me."

Lisa laughed. "He is right. He has six hundred acres, a shovel and a shot gun."

"Can I cut in here?" Jack asked, taking Lisa's hand while Julie took David's.

"Jack, did you threaten my new son-in-law?" Lisa asked innocently. "Oh, I just gave him a talking-to,"

Jack smiled slightly. "Yes… A 'talking-to'…" Lisa's tone changed a little.

Jack recognized her tone as an indication that she was in pain. "Your hands?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," she replied with a small grimace. "But let's not think about that."

"How about we just dace, then," Jack suggested, and let Lisa spin out on the dance floor. He kissed her cheek when she twirled back in. Julie chose that moment to rush up to them, her white dress trailing behind on the floor.

"Mom; Dad," she gushed.

Lisa, surprised by Julie calling Jack 'dad', looked at her. "What?"

"I need you two for pictures in front of the barn!" Julie grabbed both their wrists and dragged them over to the cameraman. "Um, let's get a picture of you two together, and then one with the bride," the photographer instructed as he pointed to Jack and Lisa. Lisa and Jack smiled as the photographer snapped several pictures of them. After that came some shots of Julie and them together. Lisa couldn't help but think that she had a husband that loved her and a daughter who had finally accepted her for who she was. She could finally know at night when she lay down in bed that she kept no secrets from the people that mattered to her… and it was picture perfect.

/\\\/\\/\\

Well that is it. It is over. I have another story in the works so in a short time 'Blind Faith' "The Wall" or 'Faith' (I have yet to decide) will appear and I can say that for once it will go in to Jack's past more… I hope to know what you think about this story. Until the next adventure's story, Libby


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